Australia

New South Wales takes legal action against Goldwind

AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government has started legal action against Goldwind that could force it to move nine turbines on a wind project in the state.

The Gullen Range project is due to come online this year

The government claims that the Chinese manufacturer and developer installed the turbines in locations that were not approved under the construction consent.

Goldwind has accepted that it installed nine of the 73 turbines at the 165MW Gullen Range wind farm in locations not agreed by the authorities. However, it claims that it was justified in doing so, as the consenting documents allow for "minor changes" to the plans.

But the government has taken the side of local residents who complained that the new location of the turbines will have a negative impacts on their wellbeing.

A spokesperson for the government said: "The department shares the local community's opinion that the new positions of these nine turbines are inconsistent with the conditions of consent and have negative impacts on nearby residents and environmental areas.

"It is not reasonable to say that turbines located up to 187 metres from the originally approved location constitute minor changes."

As such, the government has started legal proceedings against Goldwind, which now has 21 days to justify why a full order should not be imposed ordering it to move the turbines.

If Goldwind challenges the order in court, the government has the option of pursuing enforcement proceedings through the Land and Environment Court.

The project is set to come online by the end of the year with 56 Goldwind 2.5MW turbines and 17 of its 1.5MW machines.

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